IRAN: Heavy prison terms for a “priest” and another converted Christian” in Iran

Heavy sentences for Christians is being haded out by Judge Ahmadzadeh the head of 26th Branch of Islamic Revolutionary Court.

Mohabat News (08.07.2017) – http://bit.ly/2udF68m – As reported by the Christian News Agency in Iran, “ Mohabat News”, “Victor Bat Tomerz”, the former priest of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Tehran, and a converted Christian ” Kavian Falah Mohammad” were sentenced to prison terms by Judge Ahmadzadeh of the 26th branch of Islamic Court on 11th of June 2017.

According to the sentences pronounced by this court, “priest Victor” and “Kavian Falah Mohammadi” were accused of violating the national security of the country by hosting “House Churches” and were punished with 10 years prison terms.

According to this sentence, after the prison term, they are banned from leaving the country for two years.

Priest Victor was one of the official Assyrian clerics and had served Pentecostal churches for more than 3 decades. He was also a famous pastor among the Persian-speaking Christians, while he was dismissed from his service with the interference of few government-related agents like “Yonatan Bat Celia”, the parliamentary representative of the Assyrian minority in Islamic parliament, and under the pressure from security and information apparatus on 31st of March 2009. Accordingly, the Persian church services provided to the Persian-speaking converted Christians were also canceled.

Reverend Victor along with his wife and their child and 12 other converted Christians were identified and arrested on 26th of December 2014 in their house by the police while they were celebrating Christmas.

The information agents released all the individuals attending this celebration after their written interrogation and signing a promissory covenant. Apart from Reverend Victor, Amin Afshar Naderi and Kavian Falah Mohammadi were also among the arrested Christians who were sent to Evin prison.

Reverend Victor was temporarily released after 65 days imprisonment with heavy bail on 1st of March 2015. Despite his old age, he was mostly kept in solitary confinement which led to his severe health issues.

Kavian Falah Mohammadi was also temporarily released one week later with a bail worth 100 million Tomans ( $30,000). On the other hand, the status of Shamiran Isavi, Reverend Victor’s wife, and his son Bat Ramyyl Tamraz, is still uncertain and their trial has not yet been.

The 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran has pronounced heavy charges and sentences for the converts in the past few days.

Amin Afshar Naderi and Hadi Askari, two Converted Christians were also sentenced to 25 years prison terms in the same judiciary branch not to mention that three Christians from Azerbaijan and an Iranian convert were sentenced to 40 years prison terms altogether on 12th June 2017.

Records has shown that heavy charges and keeping the Christian cases sealed from the public along with heavy bails, especial for pastors, has become a very beneficial income for the judiciary, which means they decide heavy bail- in form of cash or noncash payments- and keep pending their trials while pressurizing them in many different ways to force them to leave the country and thus seizing their properties.

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